This guide to the Underground Railroad emphasizes the network of places in the United States and Canada where slaves frequently tried to escape slavery and live as free people. The book was written by a team of 6 teachers and writers led by Tom Calarco, author of People of the Underground Railroad: A Biographical Dictionary (Greenwood, 2008). The essays in the new book are organized alphabetically by city, town or place names chosen for their significance as either an initial place of refuge near the border with a slave state, a way station where people hid and received care by local residents before moving on, or a place of settlement. Among the locations for settlement were Cleveland, Detroit and New England, and also several Canadian towns, such as Montreal and Niagara Falls, where slaves found freedom and safety from slave catchers. There is an essay about Florida before and after it was acquired from Spain, and three essays for atypical means of escape—“Upperground Railroad” referring to the use of trains to travel from the South to a free state, and “Waterways” and “Saltwater Underground Railroad” referring to the use of boats or ships on rivers, streams, lakes or the ocean. Users interested in concentrating on a particular state are not aided by this organization or the subject index. To focus on a state, users must review the alphabetical list of places and notice the state names.

The essays review how the slaves got to the location and why the location was important for its organizations and individuals involved in the rescue of slaves. There are brief stories about the activities of key people, the use of specific buildings of refuge at each location, and selected incidents of caring for refugees and hiding them from slave catchers. The capture and return of slaves to masters was lawful, but the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 required the federal government to help slave owners capture and return their slaves. Dedicated residents along the Underground Railroad were undeterred by the law.

The authors seek to dispel the idea among some historians that the Underground Railroad lacked organization and significant participation of free African Americans. They emphasize the complex but well organized nature of the Underground Railroad represented by vigilance committees, abolitionist organizations, and relationships between people involved in the rescue of slaves along many different routes. This was not just an enterprise of sympathetic white people often from the evangelical, anti-slavery movement. The authors clarify the essential participation of free African Americans in the rescue of slaves. In essays on small and large towns along the escape routes in the Northern states, African Americans were often in the majority of the people helping slaves to freedom.

The book includes a topical guide to essays and a subject index with topics, locations, people and organizations. There are sidebars with added background information, photographs of important sites, and maps of the routes to freedom. Some of the maps have such tiny print that they are difficult to use. Each essay offers a brief bibliography for further study, and a selected bibliography near the end of the book. Readers are referred to key publications since the 19th century, and present organizations, museums, and websites.

The Underground Railroad: An Encyclopedia of People, Places, and Operations (Sharpe Reference, 2008) offers better maps and a broader approach to people and related topics. Calarco’s work would be better if organized by state, but it is a valuable addition to the literature as an introductory resource on the Underground Railroad. It is recommended for public, school and undergraduate users.